Overhead door control means



Nov. 7, 1933. H. c. 'BLODGETT 1,933,700

OVERHEAD DOOR COXTROL MEANS Filgd Sept. 2, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VEN TOR ATTORNEY;

Nov. 7, 1933. H. c. BLODGETT 1,933,700

OVERHEAD DOOR CONTROL MEANS Filed Sept. 2, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VEN TOR BY W 7524 ATTORNEY j Patented Nov. 7, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE OVERHEAD DOOR CONTROL BIEAN Herbert cm Blodg ett, Hartford City, mm, as-

slgtnorintlo Door Control Company, Hartford Application September 2, 1930. Serial No. 479,179 '1 Claims. (01. 26859) This invention relates to improvements in door being supported by hanger 31. 4 are the guide control mechanism. It is particularly adapted pulleys for the counterbalance chain, the counterto the control of an overhead door, that is, a balance means and chain being omitted, the same door which passes from a vertical position to a being of such construction as appears in my pat- 8 horizontal track overhead, although the mechaent application, Ser. No. 262,309, filed March 16,

nism is adapted for use in controlling gates, ele- 1928.

vators, and various structures. 5 is the door control carriage. This is sup- The objects of the invention are: I ported by a pair of tracks 6, 6', which are channel First, to provide an improved structure of the in form having track grooves in the bottom and 1! class described with a stationary motor. being open on their inner sides. The carriage 6 Second, to provide such a structure with im- 5 is made up of a cross plate 51 which is bent proved electric control. downwardly at the center to form a box-like struc- Third, to provide improved track arrangeture. To the sides of the carriage are secured runments with conduits for protecting electric conners '7, 7 adapted to slide along the tracks 6, 6'. li ductors and the like. The bracket 53 is provided on the under side of Fourth, to providea structure with an improved the carria and 1S Bi 1 37 n ct d to the safety mechanism to permit the control to run bent link 8 which connectsto the upper part of after the door is blocked. the overhead door. The angle in the link per- Objects pertaining to details and economies of mits the carriage 5 to have full travel to the 20 construction and operation will appear from the front. description to follow. The front end of the tracks 6, 6' are joined to A preferred embodiment of my invention apa suitable spreader 9 of angle bar which is bolted peers in the accompanying drawings, in which: or otherwise secured to the wall 2. A spreader Fig. 1 is a detail elevation assembly view of an 10 is also between the opposite inner ends of the 25 overhead door structure with my improved conrails 6, 6'. The inner ends of the tracks are suittrol means installed, the door being shown in ably suspended by hangers 61. cross section and with the hinges between the The carria 5 is moved ba k a d fo th on the panels and counterbalance omitted. track by endless p c G aln Th s is dis- Fig. 2 is a plan view of the control means as posed over the idle sprocket wheel 111 carried 30 seen inFig. 1, the door being omitted. on bracket 112 secured to the spreader 9 at the Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail sectional elevation outer end and on the driven sprocket 12 carried view in broken section on line 3-3 of Figs. 2, 4 on shaft 121 carried by the spreader 10 and hanger and 5. 13 at the inner ends of the tracks.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail transverse sectional The front end of chainll is secured by bolt 113 35 view taken on line 44 of Figs. 1, 2 and 3, showing to the lower front part of the carriage 5 and is details of construction of the door control carthen arranged upwardly around the sprocket 111 riage to which the overhead door is connected and and sts on guide P 37 54 and is then disposed by which it is operated. downwardly around the driving sprocket wheel Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail sectional view on 12 and its rear end is connected to sp bolt 40 line 5-5 of Figs. 1, 2 and 3, showing details of 114 carried on bracket 115 on the lower rear part the drive means, the electric motor being omitted. 01 t e c a 5- Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail cross sectional The face of the gear wheel 122 serves as one view on line 66 of Figs. 1 and 2, showing details member of a clutch, being finished flat for that of the track and onduit section. purpose and provided with a friction disk 122'.

45 Fig. '7 is an enlarged detail perspective view The opposite member 123 of the clutch is secured of one of the switch boxes and trips. to the sprocket wheel 12. Coil spring 124 is on Fig. 8 is the wiring diagram for the entire the shaft 121 and holds the sprocket wheel and structure. clutch member 123 yieldingly in contact with the The parts will be identified by their numerals clutch face of the gear 122. The spring is ad- 50 of reference which are the same in all the views. justable by the nut 125. Gear 122 is driven by 1 is an overhead door made up of panels suitpinion 126 on shaft 127 which is also supported in ably hinged together, the hinges not being shown. the hangers 13. Shaft 127 is driven by pulley 128 2 is the wall above the door opening. 3 is the which is driven by the pulley 151 of motor 15 track for the door of any usual and well-known which is suitably supported by said hangers 13 55 form, extended horizontally inward, the inner end and 14 on the platforni or motor base below.

- cult is closed at that Motor 15 is an alternating current reversible motor capable of driving the pulley in either direction and by this means carrying the carriage 5 back and forth and actuating the door.

Carriage 5 is provided with a trip arm which projects above the rail 6 of the track and beyond the same to trip the limiting switches. 16 is the cut-off switch toward the outer end of the track 6, and 17 is the combined cut-off and reverse switch towards the inner end of the track.

The motor 15 is provided with the usual electric construction and connection for reversing comprising tickler coils or like devices. It is controlled by a push button switch 18 and a manual lever cut-oif switch 19 as well as by the automatically operated cut-off switch 16 and combined cut-oil and reverse switch 17.

The switches are provided with forked trip levers 161 and 171 which are disposed above the track to be engaged by the trip arm 55 as clearly seen in Fig. 4. A lock switch 20 controlled by a suitable key, like a door lock, is provided at the outside. This makes a structure that locks the garage by the mere closing of the door.

Wires leading to the motor are disposed in the conduit channel 62 symmetrical with and carried by and associated with the track channel 6. This channel is provided with a cover 63 which is made of an angular piece of sheet metal, the top 64 of which fits the upper side of the channel. At intervals between the channel 6 and the conduit channel 62 are secured flexible retainer strips of metal 65 projecting above and below the channel. These are folded around to retain in place the cover 63 to enclose the conduit 66.

By this arrangement the conductors to the motor and to the various switches are encased and protected.

The switches 16 and 17 are clamped to the condult by set screws 21 as seen in Figs. 4 and 7. Brackets 22 with channel fillers or closers 23 are secured to the sides of the switch boxes and close the space, effectively enclosing the conductors to the motor and the various switches. This is of importance in protecting the cables.

In the ordinary operation of my structure, starting with the door closed, push button switch 18 is closed and sets the motor in operation, carries the carriage 5 to the right, as: seen in Fig. 1, and elevates the door. As soon as the tripping arm 55 strikes the trip arm 161 of the switch 16, the circuit at that point is closed and the push button need no longer be held closed. Because the cirpoint, the motor continues to run until the tripping arm 55 strikes the trip 171 which cuts off the current and also operates the reverse switch. Switches 16 and 17 are operated by the same kind of connections.

Carriage 5 then slides to a considerable distance past the switch 17 when it stops and the door is held open, the runners in the track affording sumcient friction to hold the counterbalanced door and to prevent any serious overthrow. The

the current and stops the motor.

door remains open until the switch 18 is pushed again, which starts the motor. The carriage then travels toward the left, trips the trip 171 which operates the combination cut-off and reverse switch which reverses the motor and automatically closes the circuit so that the push button can be released. The carriage travels until the trip arm 55 passes the trip lever 161 and cuts of! The motor and mechanism are then ready to open the door.

Should there be any obstruction, the clutch automatically slips and no damage is done either to the door or to the motor. The motor can be completely out off by operating switch 19. It can also be controlled from the outside by the key switch 20, instead of the push button 18.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In an overhead door control means, the combination of a flexible door made of horizontal hinged panels, a track therefor at the sides of the door and extending to a horizontal plane above the door, a pair of channel tracks centrally disposed and supported between the said door tracks, connected at their forward ends to a spreader above the door, and provided with a spreader at the inner ends, a carriage disposed between said central tracks with runners to slide thereon, an idler sprocket wheel supported on a suitable bracket on the spreader between the said tracks at the front, a driven sprocket wheel journaled on a suitable cross shaft at the inner end of said tracks, a sprocket chain secured to the front part of said carriage and disposed upwardly over the said idler sprocket wheel, thence rearwardly around the driving sprocket wheel and secured by a spring to the rear of said carriage, a driven gear supported on the sprocket wheel shaft and having a clutch face thereon, a corresponding clutch member secured to the said sprocket wheel with a friction disk interposed, a compression spring on the said sprocket wheel shaft-urging'the said sprocket wheel into contact to close the said clutch, an adjusting nut for regulating the pressure on the said clutch, whereby the resistance to the door will cause the said clutch to slip, and an electric motor with reduction gear to drive said gears.

2. In an overhead door control means, the combination of a flexible door, a track therefor at the sides of the door and extending to a horizontal plane above the door, a pair of channel tracks centrally disposed and supported between the said door tracks, a carriage disposed between said central tracks having runners to slide thereon, an idler sprocket wheel supported between the said tracks at the front, a driven sprocket wheel joumaled on a suitable cross shaft at the inner end of said tracks, a sprocket chain secured to the front part of said carriage and disposed upwardly over the said idler sprocket wheel, thence rearwardly around the driving sprocket wheel and secured by a spring to the rear of said carriage, a driven gear supported on the sprocket wheel shaft and having a clutch face thereon, a corresponding clutch member secured to the said sprocket wheel, a compression spring on the said sprocket wheel shaft urging the said sprocket wheel into contact to close the said clutch, and an electric motor having reduction gear to drive said gears.

3. In an overhead door control means, the combination of a flexible door, a track therefor at the sides of the door and extending to a horizontal plane above the door, a pair of channel tracks centrally disposed and supported between the said door tracks, a carriage disposed between said central tracks having runners to slide thererear of said carriage, a driven gear supported on the sprocket wheel shaft and having a clutch face thereon, a corresponding clutch member secured to the said sprocket wheel, a compression spring on the said sprocket wheel shaft urging the said sprocket wheel into contact to close the said clutch, an alternating current electric motor supported at the inner ends of said track, electric connections leading thereto, a cutout switch and push button switch for controlling the same, automatic cut-01f switches having a trip means adjustably secured to the said track, and a trip arm on the carriage for tripping the said cut-ofi switches.

4. In an overhead door construction, the combination of a door, means to open and close the same comprising suitable channel shaped \tracks for operating therewith, a carriage having a trip arm adapted to travel on said tracks, an electric motor supported by said tracks, conductors leading to said motor disposed in a channel associated with said tracks, a cover for the said channel, flexible strips for retaining the said cover in place, automatic trip switches in boxes secured to the said track to be actuated by the trip arm, and closure plates secured to the said switch boxes for closing the said channel.

5. In an overhead door construction, the combination of a door, means to open and close the same comprising suitable channel shaped tracks for operating therewith, a carriage having a trip arm adapted to travel on said tracks, an electric motor supported by said tracks, conductors leading to said motor disposed in a channel associated with said tracks, automatic trip switches in boxes secured to said track to be actuated by the trip arm, and closure plates secured to the said switch boxes for closing the said channel.

6. In an overhead door construction, the combination of a door, means to open and close the same comprising suitable channel shaped tracks for operating therewith, a carriage having a trip arm adapted to travel on said tracks, an electric motor supported by said tracks, conductors leading to said motor disposed in a channel associated with said tracks, a cover for the said channel, flexible strips for retaining the said cover in place, and automatic trip switches in boxes secured to said track to be actuated by the trip arm;

7. In an overhead door construction, the combination of a door, means to open and close the same comprising suitable channel shaped tracks for operating therewith, a carriage having a trip arm adapted to travel on said tracks, an electric motor supported by said tracks, conductors lead- 1' z JI. 

